Kenton Announces THRU-25

LONDON, UK: MIDI utilities specialist Kenton is proud to announce availability of the THRU-25 — an appropriately-named new addition to its growing family of compact and sturdy MIDI utility boxes that effectively allows up to 25 MIDI devices to be connected to one MIDI output port and avoids all the usual problems associated with daisy-chaining multiple MIDI devices — as of September 29...

As implied by name, the THRU-25 boasts no fewer than 25 sequentially-numbered MIDI Thru ports, each with separate drive circuits for optimum performance, plus one opto-coupled MIDI IN (MIDI input) port — and all with an impressive latency of less than one microsecond! Active circuitry helps restore the quality of signals received at that MIDI input as they may have become degraded by losses incurred in the MIDI cable connecting the keyboard, computer, or other ‘master’ MIDI device to the THRU-25. In use, up to 25 ‘slave’ MIDI devices can be conveniently controlled by simply connecting them to those multiple MIDI Thru ports — one MIDI device per port.

Housed in a road-ready metal box attractively finished in brushed aluminium with black screen print measuring merely 300mm (W) x 54mm (D) x 35mm (H) and weighing in at a portable 460g (including the power supply), the THRU-25 is powered by a plug-top, switch-mode power supply (supplied with the unit as one of four types — Australia, EU, UK, or USA — appropriate to the delivery address). As such, there is no need for periodic battery changes to keep the unit up and running. Instead, the ACTIVE LED emits a steady green light to indicate when power is connected and no MIDI data is being received at the MIDI IN port; in turn, that green light flickers when MIDI data is being received — really helpful for trouble-shooting at a glance.

“The THRU-25 is a larger version of our popular THRU-5,” notes Kenton Director John K. Price. “It is intended for use in recording studios and by users with a lot of MIDI equipment. I had received numerous requests over time for a unit larger than the THRU-5, so I made a prototype that I showed at The NAMM Show 2015 back in January. The unit attracted a lot of attention, so we have now put it into production.”

Proponents of high-count hardware MIDI rigs surely owe it to themselves and their devices to invest in a THRU-25 and avoid all those problems associated with daisy-chaining multiple MIDI devices once and for all — and all without breaking a sweat (or breaking the bank)!

The THRU-25 can be purchased from Kenton’s global network of retail partners or directly for £128.92 GBP (excluding tax and shipping) from here: http://www.kentonuk.com/thru25

Kenton was founded in 1986 by UK musician John Price, who began by building a more cost-effective and well-specified MIDI interface for his beloved Oberheim OBX programmable analogue polysynth than was otherwise available; word soon got around, and today the company designs and manufactures a wide range of far-reaching MIDI solutions for famous and not-so-famous clients alike around the globe from its South West London-based HQ: “People often ask where the name Kenton came from; my father, Wylie Price, was a bandleader in the Forties and Fifties, and was a big fan of Stan Kenton, so, when I was born, I was given Kenton as my middle name.”